The invention pertains to a magnetic therapy patch which can instantly be applied to any part of the body where there is a need because of pain and other afflictions. In China, France, Japan and especially in India, magnetic therapy has long been used to speed the healing of broken bones and soft-tissues injuries. In the US, magnetic therapy is sometimes considered a form of quackery. But following the publication of several pro-magnet studies in the Journal of Electro and magnetobiology and other prestigious American medical journals, a few pioneering doctors in this country are starting to use magnets in their practices, Already, magnetic therapy has proven effective at treating slow healing fractures and arthritic knees and necks. Studies also suggest that regular use of magnets may reverse osteoporosis, prevent heart disease, slow tumor growth and boost mental function in Alzheimer""s patients.
Is magnetic therapy safe? Absolutely. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines routinely expose patients to magnetic fields as high as 15,000 xe2x80x9cgaussxe2x80x9d with no negative effects. It stands to reason that a medical magnet rated at much less gauss poses little if not any threat at all.
Recent studies have demonstrated quite clearly that when placed directly on the skin, a simple hand-held magnet increases the flow of blood. It does so by stimulating cellular activity through the so-called xe2x80x9cHall effectxe2x80x9d.
Some scientists think magnets improve the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, which would also stimulate blood flow to the affected area. Magnetic therapy diminishes pain.
This occurs via a combination of the xe2x80x9cHallxe2x80x9d effects and possibly some stabilizing influence on the autonomic nervous system. Magnetic therapy speeds healing by promoting a natural environment It does so by boosting the body""s synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the fuel that fires all cellular processes and by enhancing the blood""s ability to carry oxygen. How does magnetic therapy work? Life is electrical in nature. Each individual cell posses a positive electrical charge at its nucleus and a negative electrical charge on its outer membrane. The functioning of the cells and the nervous system of every living being depends on direct current (DC) and pulsed DC energy. Without this energy, there is no life.
Magnetic therapy helps relieve arthritic pain and slows the deterioration of cartilage inside arthritic joints. It is recommended that patients with arthritis sleep on a magnetic mattress pad. The applicants"" co-pending application Ser. No. 09/238,798 under the title of xe2x80x9cMattress cap with an expandable compartmentxe2x80x9d teaches the use of magnetic pads for just this purpose. This would also include magnetic pillow liners as an effective treatment for chronic headaches and jaw pain.
Tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome and other tendon or ligament problems heal faster when wrapped in magnetic bandages. In most cases the magnet is wrapped into place over the effected area and left in place until the pain disappears.
In some hospitals, when dealing with broken bones, powerful electromagnets are being used to speed healing of stubborn bone fractures. Magnetic therapy also seems to promote regeneration of spinal disk tissue.
When dealing with asthma, the use of magnets helps prevent the violent allergic reaction in the lungs that is characteristic of bronchial asthma. Again it is recommended to sleep on a magnetic pad or the wearing of a magnetic bandage on the chest.
The benefits of magnetic therapy are often apparent within the first hour of treatment. With others, three or four days of steady treatment are required.
For maximum benefit, the magnets should be placed as close to the body as is possible. The strength of the magnetic field drops off sharply when the distance to the body increases. A variety of magnetic devices is now available including mattress pads, pillow liners, magnetic-studded bandages and simple hand-held magnets. A few of the prior art devices will now be discussed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,912 relates to a medical treatment apparatus such as belly-band that is to be worn around the belly of a user. The belly-band includes magnetic treatment means that is attached thereto so that the belly-band can serve to protect the user""s belly from being chilled and at the same time to magnetically treat any affected part of the body of the user""s body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,956 discloses a reversible magnetic therapeutic device including a two-sided flexible wrapper which includes a plurality of magnets sufficiently sized and spaced apart along the wrapper""s length to provide a therapeutically effective two-dimensional array with all the north poles and all the south poles on opposite sides. The wrapper is wrapped in a sleeve form about an ailing body part. The wrapping seems to be quite complicated by having to observe the north and the south poles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,321 discloses an octapolar magnetic device that is disposed near the mammalian sensory neuron so that the magnetic field generated by one quadrapolar face of the device is symmetrically disposed about the neuron. The magnetic device is comprised of four magnetic bodies, each having two opposite magnetic poles. Two positive and two negative poles are disposed substantially in a single plane to define the four vertices of a quadralateral shape, the two positive poles defining two diagonal vertices, and the two negative poles defining the opposite two diagonal vertices of the qudralateral shape. A housing is provided to hold the magnetic bodies in a fixed relative position and thus maintain the quadralateral orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,333 discloses a method for preventing or reducing sensation originating in a part of the human body through the application of magnetic flux either to the lumbar-sacral region of the body or to the cervico-dorsal region of the body. The magnetic devices are supported on the human body in various locations as required and/or desired by a full range of comfort support products including back, shoulder, knee, foot ankle wrist, forearm and elbow.
There is a known publication by W. L. Roper, Chairman of Magnatherapy, Inc. under the title of xe2x80x9cTECTONIC(trademark) MAGNETSxe2x80x9d, The Invisible Massage That Lets You Feel The Differencexe2x80x9d. Tectonic magnets are unidirectional (unipolar) ceramic and flexible magnets that offer comfort for aches and pains. Each magnet is made to fit on a specific part of the body that has pain. Leading scientists agree that unipolar magnets are superior to bi-polar magnets. TECTONIC(trademark) Power Magnets create magnetic fields which penetrate deeper into the target tissue, enhancing the flow of oxygen, ions and nutrients. The xe2x80x9cgaussxe2x80x9d rating of these magnetic devices range from a low of 1100, 2450, 3950 to 11000. They are applied to the body by special supporters or by surgical adhesive tapes.
Another publication is distributed as a brochure by New Age Health Innovations under the (trademark) of MAGNA POD Support System. The published magnetic devices involve the so-called Neodymium Magnets with alternating poles which consist of two layers indicated as a South pole and a North pole and are color coded to identify the same as to their polarity. The publication discloses that the MAGNA POD(trademark) magnetic devices are applied to the body by a support system around various limbs of the body back and support systems. The magnets are used as alternating north and south poles on a plate-like support.
Still another publication by WONDER COMFORTS(trademark) Int. discloses magnetic devices under the phrase xe2x80x9cAll magnets Are Not Created Equalxe2x80x9d. The magnetic devises used in this publication, under the name of BIOflex(trademark), are applied to the body through the use of various support bandages or support sleeves. Other applications show the use of single round disks with the connotation xe2x80x9cfor placement use adhesive disks.
Still another publication by xe2x80x9cPjan International, Inc. in Stow, Ohio, discloses the use of a belt under the name xe2x80x9cMagnetic Back/Belly Beltxe2x80x9d. In this belt, which can be worn on the back or the front of a user, there are embedded 16 large circular disc magnets and 54 tiny unique Pyramid points also embedded in the belt.
Attention is also directed to the publication distributed by the Magnet Sales and Manufacturing Co. Inc. of Culver City, Calif. Disclosed therein are all different kinds of magnets including the Neodymium Magnets. None of these magnets disclosed therein make any reference to the use of any magnetic devices to be worn on the body.
An object of the invention is to greatly simplify the use of magnets on the body for therapeutic purposes and at the same time to render them more effective. To this end, the magnets are directly worn on the skin of the body. In discussing the above noted various prior art devices the xe2x80x9cgaussxe2x80x9d rating of the magnets played a major role when the magnets were applied to the body. Experimentation has shown that, when magnets are worn by using supporters such as sleeves around body limbs or other devices around the neck and/or the shoulder, the effectiveness of the magnets contained therein is decreased through the intermediary presence of bandages or cloth because the xe2x80x9cgaussxe2x80x9d rating decreases the farther the magnet is removed from the affected areas such as muscles, blood vessels, joints or tissues. Therefore, the inventor is placing the magnets directly on the skin of the user. Various sizes of the magnets are contemplated such as round, square, rectangular or the use of multiple magnets where so desired or indicated. The problem is to fasten or adhere these magnets to the skin in a permanent manner. the skin of the body is prone to move and to flex. Another problem is the perspiration factor which almost defeats the adherence of anything that is placed on the skin. Some of the publications, described above, suggest the use of surgical tape which may be effective but the problem is that the magnets and the surgical tape may not be handy or available at the same time when needed. Another publication suggests the use of adhesive disks. The problem with this is that the disks cannot flex with the skin and are bound to loosen up after some use. According to the invention, adhesive bands or patches are being used that are well known in the area of disposable electrode assemblies in the testing of patients on treadmills. These pads or adhesive patches appear in a publication of a leading electrode Co. The patches or bandages use the natural adhesive Karaten, it inhibits skin irritations and promotes skin comfort. There is no skin preparation necessary for most patients and perspiration will not inhibit the magnet adhesion, while in fact, it enhances adhesive properties.
The magnet units of the invention are self-contained and are ready to use anywhere on the body of a user. The units include a relatively thin transparent base support member having a central depression for receiving the thickness of a magnet and to protect the same from handling prior to its use and to adhesively maintain the adhesive patch or bandage prior to its use. It is also extremely important to maintain the polarity of the magnets in their proper orientation when they are applied to the body. In this respect, the north pole, that is, the negative pole should always be in contact with the skin of the body. To this end, the magnets are all marked with their orientation so that the polarity can always be identified either by sight or by feel. It is also an object of the invention to assemble a kit of the various parts to be used in conjunction with the use of the magnets. It is believed that the adhesive patches or bandages are disposable after at least one use. The kit would contain extra patches or adhesive bandages, properly protected like a band-aid to be used in conjunction with the still usable magnets. The adhesive patches or bandages, however would also have an orientation aid, either visual or tactile, to match the proper orientation of the magnets with respect to their positive or negative poles.